#81 


Conf  Pam  12mo  #81 


MESSAGE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 


Gentlemen  op  the  Congress  : 

It  is  my  pleasing  duty  to  announce  to  you  that  the  Con- 
stitution framed  for  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
government  for  the  Confederate  States  has  been  ratified 
by  Conventions  in  each  of  those  States  to  which  it  was 
referred.  To  inaugurate  the  government  in  its  full  pro- 
portions and  upon  its  own  substantial  basis  of  the  popu- 
lar will,  it  only  remains  that  elections  should  be  held  for 
the  designation  of  the  officers  to  administer  it. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  at  no  distant  day, 
other  States  identified  in  political  principles  and  commu- 
nity of  interests  with  those  which  you  represent  will  join 
this  Confederacy;  giving  to  its  typical  constellation  in- 
creased splendor — to  its  government  of  free,  equal  and 
sovereign  States1  a  wider  sphere  of  usefulness — and  to  the 
friends  of  constitutional  liberty  a  greater  security  for  its 
harmonious  and  perpetual  existence. 

It  was  not,  however,  for  the  purpose  of  making  this  an- 
nouncement that  I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  convoke 
you  at  an  earlier  day  than  that  fixed  by  yourselves  for 
your  meeting.  The  declaration  of  war  made  against  this 
Confederacy  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  his  proclamation  issued  on  the  fifteenth 
day  of  the  present  month,  rendered  it  necessary  in  my 
judgment  that  you  should  convene  at  the  earliest  practi- 
cable moment,  to  devise  the  measures  necessary  for  the 
defence  of  the  country. 

The  occasion  is  indeed  an  extraordinary  one.     It  justi- 


fies  me  in  a  brief  review  of  the  relations  heretofore  exist- 
ing between  us  and  the  States  winch  now  unite  in  warfare 
aarainst  us,  and  in  a  succinct  statement  of  the  events  which 
have  resulted  in  this  warfare;  to  the  end  that  mankind 
may  pass  intelligent  and  impartial  judgment  on  its  mo- 
and  objects. 

During  the  war  waged  against  Great  Britain  by  her 
colonies  on  this  continent,  a  common  danger  impelled 
them  to  a  close  alliance,  and  to  the  formation  of  a  Con- 
federation, by  the  terms  of  which  the  colonies,  styling 
themselves  States,  entered  "severally  into  a  firm  league  of 
friendship  with  each  other  for  their  common  defence,  the 
security  of  their  liberties,  and  their  mutual  and  general 
welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist  each  other  against 
all  force  offered  to  or  attacks  made  upon  them  or  any  of 
them,  on'  account  of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade  or  any 
other  pretence  whatever." 

In  order  to  guard  against  any  misconstruction  of  their 
compact,  the  several  States  made  explicit  declaration,,  in 
a  distinct  article,  that  "each  State  retains  its  sovereignty, 
freedom  and  independence,  and  every  power,  jurisdiction 
and  right  which  is  not  by  this  Confederation  expressly  del- 
egated to  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled." 

Under  this  contract  of  alliance,  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion was  successfully  waged,  and  resulted  in  the  treaty  of 
peace  with  Great  Britain  in  1783,  by  the  terms  of  which 
the  several  States  were,  each  by  name,  recognized  to  be 
independent. 

The  articles  of  confederation  contained  a  clause  whereby 
all  alterations  were  prohibited,  unless  confirmed  by  the 
Legislatures  of  every  State,  after  being  agreed  to  by  the 
Congress;  and  in  obedience  to  this  provision  under  the 
resolution  of  Congress  of  the  21st  February,  1787,  the 
several  States  appointed  delegates  who  attended  a  Con- 
vention ufor  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of  revising  the 
articles  of  confederation,  and  reporting  to  Congress  and 
the  several  Legislatures  such  alterations  and  provisions 
therein  as  shall  when  agreed  to  in  Congress,  and  confirmed 


by  the  States,  render  the  Federal  Constitution  adequate 
to  the  exigencies  of  government  and  the  preservation  of 
the  Union." 

It  was,  by  the  delegates  chosen,  by  the  several  States,  un- 
der the  resolution  just  quoted,  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  was  framed  in  1787,  and  submitted  to  the 
several  States  for  ratification,  as  shewn  by  the  7th  article 
which  is  in  these  words. 

"The  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  Slates  shall 
be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution 
between  the  States,  so  ratifying  the  same." 

I  have  italicised  certain  words  in  the  quotations  just 
made,  for  the  purpose  of  attracting  attention  to  the 
singular  and  marked  caution  with  which  the  States  en- 
deavored, in  every  possible  form,  to  exclude  the  idea  that 
the  separate  and  independent  sovereignty  of  each  State 
was  merged  into  one  common  government  and  nation  ; 
and  the  earnest  desire  they  evinced  to  impress  on  the 
Constitution  its  true  character — that  of  a  compact  between 
independent  States. 

The  Constitution  of  1787  having,  however,  omitted  che 
clause  already  recited  from  the  articles  of  Confederation, 
which  provided  in  explicit  terms,  that  each  State  ret 
its  sovereignty  and  independence,  some  alarm  was  felt 
in  the  States  when  invited  to  ratify  the  Constitu- 
tion, lest  this  omission  should  be  construed  into  an 
abandonment  of  their  cherished  principle,  and  the}^  re- 
fused to  be  satisfied  until  amendments  were  added  to  the 
Constitution,  placing  beyond  any  pretence  of  doubt,  the 
reservation  by  the  States,  of  all  their  sovereign  rights 
and  powers — not  expressly  delegated  to  the  United  States 
by  the  Constitution. 

Strange  indeed  must  it  appear  to  the  impartial  observer, 
but  it  is  none  the  less  true,  that  all  these  carefully  worded 
clauses  proved  unavailing  to  prevent  the  rise  and  growth 
in  the  Northern  States  of  a  political  school  which  has  per- 
sistently claimed  that  the  government  thus  formed  was 
not  a  compact  between  States,  but  was  in  effect  a  national 


government,  set  up  above  and  over  the  States.  An  organ- 
ization, created  by  the  Statea  to  Becure  the  blessin 
liberty  and  independence  against  foreign  aggression,  lias 
been  gradually  perverted  into  a  machine  for  their  control 
in  their  domestic  aflairs :  the  creature  has  been  exalted 
above  its  creators ;  t-  pals  have  been  made  subordi- 

nate to  the  agent  appointed  by  themselves. 

The  people  of  the  Southern  States,  whose  almost  ex- 
clusive occupation  was  agriculture,  earl}-  perceived  a  ten- 
dency in  the  Northern  States  to  render  the  common  gov- 
ernment subservient  to  their  own  purposes,  by  imposing 
burthens  on  commerce1  as  a  protection  to  their  manufac- 
turing and  shipping  interests.  Long  and  angry  contro- 
versy grew  out  of  these  attempts,  often  successful,  to  ben- 
efit one  section  of  the  country  at  the  expense  of  the  other. 
And  the  danger  of  disruption  arising  from  this  cause  was 
enhanced  by  the  fact  that  the  Northern  population  was 
increasing  by  immigration  and  other  causes  in  a  greater 
ratio  than  the  population  of  the  South.  By  degrees  as 
the  Northern  States  gained  preponderance  in  the  [National 
Congress,  self  interest  taught  their  people  to  yield  ready 
assent  to  any  plausible  advocacy  of  their  right  as  a  major- 
ity to  govern  the  minority  without  control :  they  learned 
to  listen  with  impatience  to  the  suggestion  of  any  consti- 
tutional impediment  to  the  exercise  of  their  will;  and  so 
utterly  have  the  principles  of  the  Constitution  been  cor- 
rupted in  the  Xorthern  mind,  that  in  the  inaugural  ad- 
dress delivered  by  President  Lincoln  in  March  last,  he 
asserts  as  an  axiom  which  he  plainly  deems  to  be  unde- 
niable, that  the  theory  of  the  Constitution  requires  that 
in  all  cases  the  majority  shall  govern  ;  and  in  another 
memorable  instance,  the  same  Chief  Magistrate  did  not 
hesitate  to  liken  the  relations  between  a  State  and  the 
United  States  to  those  which  exist  between  a  county  and 
the  State  in  which  it  is  situated  and  by  which  it  was 
created.  This  is  the  lamentable  and  fundamental  error 
on  which  rests  the  policy  that  has  culminated  in  his 
declaration  of  war  against  these  Confederate  States. 


Ill  addition  to  the  long  continued  and  deep  seated 
resentment  felt  by  the  Southern  State*  at  the  persistent 
abuse  of  the  powers  they  had  delegated  to  the  Congress, 
for  the  purpose  of  enriching  the  manufacturing  and  ship- 
ping classes  of  the  North  at  the  expense  of  the  South, 
there  has  existed  for  nearly  half  a  century  another  sub- 
ject of  discord,  involving  interests  of  such  transcendent 
magnitude,  as  at  all  times  to  create  the  apprehension  in 
the  minds  of  many  devoted  lovers  of  the^Union,  that 
its  permanence  was  impossible. 

When  the  several  States  delegated  certain  powers  to 
the  United  States  Congress,  a  large  portion  of  the  labor- 
ing population  consisted  of  African  slaves  imported  into 
the  colonies  by  the.  mother  country.  In  twelve,  out  of 
the  thirteen  States,  negro  slavery  existed,  and  the  right 
of  property  in  slaves  was  protected  by  law.  This  proper- 
ty was  recognized  in  the  Constitution,  and  provision  was 
made  against  its  loss  by  the  escape  of  the  slave.  The 
increase  in  the  number  of  slaves  by  further  importation 
from  Africa  was  also  secured  by  a  clause  forbidding 
Congress  to  prohibit  the  slave  trade  anterior  to  a  certain 
date  ;  and  in  no  clause  can  there  be  found  auy  delegation 
of  power  to  the  Congress  authorizing  it  in  any  manner 
to  legislate  to  the  prejudice,  detriment  or  discouragement 
of  the  owners  of  that  species  of  property,  or  excluding  it 
from  the  protection  of  the  government. 

The  climate  and  soil  of  the  Northern  States  soon  prov- 
ed unpropitious  to  the  continuance  of  slave  labor,  whilst 
the  converse  was  the  case  at  the  South.  Under  the  un- 
restricted free  intercourse  between  the  two  sections,  the 
Northern  States  consulted  their  own  interest  by  selling 
their  slaves  to  the  South,  and  prohibiting  slavery  within 
their  limits.  The  South  were  willing  purchasers  of  a 
property  suitable  to  their  wants,  and  paid  the  price  of  the 
acquisition  without  harboring  a  suspicion  that  their  quiet 
possession  was  to  be  disturbed  by  those  who  were  inhibi- 
ted, not  only  by  want  of  constitutional  authority,  but  by 


6 

good  faitb  as  vendors,  from  disquieting  a  title  emanating 
from  themselves. 

A.8  soon,  however,  as  the  Northern  States  that  pro- 
hibited African  slavery  within  their  limits  had  readied  a 
number  sufficient  to  give  their  representation  a  control- 
ling voice   in   the   Congress,  a  persistent  and   organized 

m  ofhostile  measures  against  the  rights  of  the  own- 
ers of  slaves  in  the  Southern  States  was  inaugurated,  and 
gradually  extended.  A  continuous  series  of  measures 
was  devised  and  prosecuted  for  the  purpose  of  rendering 
insecure  the  tenure  of  property  in  slaves:  fanatical  or- 
ganizations, supplied  with  monev  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tions, were  assiduously  engaged  in  exciting  amongst  the 
slaves  a  spirit  of  discontent  and  revolt  ;  means  were  fur- 
nished   for   their  escape  from  their  .owners,   ami   agents 

itly   employed   to  entice  them  to  abscond;  the  con- 
stitutional  provision  for   their  rendition  to  their  owners 
was  first  evaded,  then  openly  denounced  as  a  violation  of 
ions  obligation   and   religious  duty;  men  were 

;:t  that  it  was  a  merit  to  elude,  disobey,  and  violent- 

ipose  the  execution  of  the  laws  enacted  to  secure 
the  performance  of  the  promise  contained  in  the  consti- 
tutional compact;  owners  of  slaves  were  mobbed  and 
even  murdered  in  open  day,  solely  for  applying  to  a  ma- 
gistrate for  the  arrest  of  a.  fugitive  slave;  the  dogmas 
of  these  voluntary  organizations  soon  obtained  control  of 
the  legislatures  of  many  of  the  Northern  States,  and  laws 
were  passed  providing  for  the  punishment  by  ruinous 

and  long  continued  imprisonment  in  jails  and  peni- 
tentiaries, of  citil  the  Southern  States,  who  should 
dare  to  ask  aid  of  the  officers  of  the  law  for  the  recovery 
of  their  property.  Emboldened  by  success,  the  theatre 
of  agitation  and  aggression  against  the  clearly  expressed 
constitutional  rights  of  the  Southern  States  was  transfer- 
red  to  the  Congress  ;  Senators  and  Representatives  were 
sent  to  the  common  councils  of  the  nation,  wdiose  chief 
title  to  this  distinction  consisted  in  the  display  of  a  spirit 
of  ultra   fanaticism,  and  wdiose  business   was,  not  "to 


promote  the  general  welfare  or  ensure  domestic  tran- 
quility," but  to  awaken  the  bitterest  hatred  against  the  citi- 
zens of  sister  States  by  violent  denunciation  of  their  insti- 
tutions; the  transaction  of  public  affairs  was  impeded  by 
repeated  efforts  to  usurp  powers  not  delegated  by  the 
Constitution,  for  the  purpose  of  impairing  the  security  of 
property  in  slaves,  and  reducing  those  States  which  hold 
slaves  to  a  condition  of  inferiority.  Finally,  a  great  par- 
ty was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  admin- 
istration of  the  government,  with  the  avowed  object  of 
using  its  power  for  the  total  exclusion  of  the  slave  States 
from  all  participation  in  the  benefits  of  the  public  domain, 
acquired  by  all  the  States  in  common,  whether  by  con- 
quest or  purchase;  of  surrounding  them  entirely  by 
States  in  which  slavery  should  ho  prohibited;  of  thus 
rendering  the  property  in  slaves  so  insecure  as  to  be  com- 
paratively worthless,  and  thereby  annihilating  in  • 
property  worth  thousands  of  millions  of  dollars.  This 
party,  thus  organized,  succeeded  in  the  month  of  Xov.  na- 
ber  last,  in  the  election  of  its  candidate  for  the  Presiden- 
cy of  the  United  States. 

In  the  meantime,  under  the  mild  and  genial  climate  of 
the  Southern  States,  and  the  increasing  care  and  attention 
for  tlio  well-being  and  comfort  of  the  laboring  class,  dic- 
tated alike  by  interest  and  humanity,  the  African  slaves 
had  augmented  in  number  from  about  600,000,  at  the  date 
of  the  adoption  of  the  constitutional  compact,  to  upwards 
of  4,000,000.  in  moral  and  social  condition  they  had  been 
elevated  from  brutal  savages  into  docile,  intelligent  and 
civilized  agricultural  laborers,  and  supplied  not  only  with 
bodily  comforts  but  with  careful  religious  instruction. 
Under  the  supervision  of  a  superior  race,  their  labor  had 
been  so  directed  as  notonly  to  allow  a  gradual  and  marked 
amelioration  of  their  own  condition,  but  to  convert  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  square  miles  of  the  wilderness  into 
cultivated  lands,  covered  with  a  prosperous  people  ;  towns 
and  cities  had  sprung  into  existence,  and  had  rapidly 
increased  in  wealth  and   population  under  the  social  sys- 


8 

tern  of  the  South;  the  white  population  of  the  Southern 
Blaveholding  States  had  augmented  from  about  1,250,000 
at  the  date  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  to  more 
than  8,500,000  in  1860  ;  and  the  productions  of  the  South 
in  cotton,  rice,  sugar,  and  tobacco,  for  the  full  develop- 
ment and  continuance  of  which  the  labor  of  African 
slaves  was.  and  is,  indispensable,  had  swollen  to  an  amount 
which  formed  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  exports  of  the 
whole  United  States,  and  had  become  absolutely  necessary 
to  the  wants  of  civilized  man. 

"With  interests  of  such  overwhelming  magnitude  im- 
perilled,  the  people  of  the  Southern  States  were  driven 
by  the  conduct  of  the  North  to  the  adoption  of  some 
course  of  action  to  avert  the  danger  with  which  they  were 
openly  menaced.  With  this  view,' the  Legislatures  of 
the  several  States  invited  the  people  to  select  delegates 
to  Conventions  to  be  held  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
for  themselves  what  measures  were  best  adapted  to  meet 
so  alarming  a  crisis  in  their  history. 

Here  it  may  be  proper  to  observe  that  from  a  period  as 
early  as  1798  there  had  existed  in  all  of  the  States  of  the 
Union  a  party,  almost  uninterruptedly  in  the  majority, 
based  upon  the  creed  that  each  State  was  in  the  last  re- 
sort, the  sole  judge  as  well  of  its  wrongs,  as  of  the  mode 
and  measure  of  redress.  Indeed,  it  is  obvious,  that  under 
the  law  of  nations,  this  principle  is  an  axiom  as  applied 
to  the  relations  of  independent  sovereign  States,  such  as 
those  which  had  united  themselves  under  the  constitu- 
tional compact.  The  Democratic  party  of  the  United 
States  repeated  in  its  successful  canvass  in  1856,  the  dec- 
laration made  in  numerous  previous  political  contests, 
that  it  would  ''faithfully  abide  by  and  uphold  the 
principles  laid  down  in  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia  reso- 
lutions of  1798,  and  in  the  report  of  Mr.  Madison  to  the 
Virginia  Legislature  in  1799;  and  that  it  adopts  those 
principles  as  constituting  one  of  the  main  foundations  of 
its  political  creed." 

The  principles  thus   emphatically  announced  embrace 


9 

that  to  which  I  have  already  adverted,  the  right  of  each 
state  to  judge  of,  and  redress  the  wrongs  of  which  it  com- 
plains. These  principles  were  maintained  by  overwhelm- 
ing majorities  of  the  people  of  all  the  States  of  the  Union 
at  different  elections,  especially  in  the  elections  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  in  1805,  Mr.  Madison  in  1809,  and  Mr.  Pierce 
in  1852. 

In  the  exercise  of  a  right  so  ancient,  so  well  establish- 
ed, and  so  necessary  for  self-preservation,  the  people  of 
the  Confederate  States  in  their  Conventions,  determined 
that  the  wrongs  which  they  had  suffered,  and  the  evils 
with  which  they  were  menaced,  required  that  they  should 
revoke  the  delegation  of  powers  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment which  they  had  ratified  in  their  several  Conven- 
tions They  consequently  passed  ordinances  resuming  all 
their  rights  as  sovereign  and  independent  States,  and  dis- 
solved their  connection  with  the  other  States  of  the 
Union. 

Having  done  this,  they  proceeded  to  form  a  new  com- 
pact amongst  themselves,  by  new  articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, which  have  been  also  ratified  by  the  conventions  of 
the  several  States  with  an  approach  to  unanimity  far  ex- 
ceeding that  of  the  conventions  which  adopted  .the  Con- 
stitution of  1787.  They  have  organized  their  new  gov- 
ernment in  all  its  departments;  the  functions  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive, Legislative,  and  Judicial  Magistrates  are  per- 
formed in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the  people  .as  dis- 
played, not  merely  in  a  cheerful  acquiescence,  but  in  the 
enthusiastic  support  of  the  government  thus  established 
by  themselves;  and  but  for  the  interference  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  in  this  legitimate  exercise 
of  the  right  of  a  people  to  self-government,  peace,  happi- 
ness and  prosperity  would  now  smile  on  our  land. 

That  peace  is  ardently  desired  by  this  government  and 
people,  has  been  manifested  in  every  possible  form. — 
Scarce  had  you  assembled  in  February  last,  when,  prior 
even  to  the  inauguration  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  you  had 
elected,  you  passed  a  resolution  expressive  of  your  desire 


10 

for  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  be  sent  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States  "for  the  purpose  of  ne- 
gotiating friendly  relations  between  that  government 
and  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  and  for  the  set- 
tlement of  all  questions  of  disagreement  between  the 
two  governments  upon  principles  of  right,  justice,  equity 
and  good  faith." 

It  was  my  pleasure  as  well  as  my  duty,  to  co-operate 
with  you  in  this  work  of  peace.  Indeed,  in  my  address 
to  you  on  taking  the  oath  of  office,  and  before  receiving 
from  you  the  communication  of  this  resolution,  I  had 
said,  "as  a  necessity,  not  a  choice,  we  have  resorted  to 
the  remedy  of  separation,  and  henceforth  our  cue; 
must  be  directed  to  the  conduct  of  our  own  affaire  and 
the  perpetuity  of  the  Confederacy  which  we  hi  :ed. 

If  a  just  perception  of  mutual  interest  shall  permit  us 
peaceably  to  pursue  our  separate  political  career,  my 
most  earnest  desire  will  have  been  fulfilled." 

It  was  in  furtherance  of  these  accordant  views  of  the 
Congress  and  the  Executive,  that  I  made  choice  of  three 
disocet,  able  and  distinguished  citizens,  who  repaired  to 
Washington.  Aided  by  their  cordial  co-operation.  and 
that  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  every  effort  compatible 
with  self-respect  and  the  dignity  of  the  Confederacy  was 
exhausted  before  I  allowed  myself  to  yield  to  the  convic- 
tion that  the  government  of  the  United  States  was  d< 
mined  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  this  people,  and  that 
our  cherished  hopes  of  peace  were  unattainable. 

On  the  arrival  of  our  commissioners  in  Washington,  on 
the  5th  March,  they  postponed,  at  the  suggestion  of  a 
friendly  intermediary,  doing  more  than  giving  informal 
notice  of  their  arrival.  This  was  done  with  a  view  to  af- 
ford time  to  the  President  who  had  just  been  inaugura- 
ted, tor  the  discharge  of  other  pressing  official  duties  in 
the  organization  of  his  administration,  before  engaging 
his  attention  in  the  object  of  their  mission.  It  was  not 
until  the  12th  of  the  month  that  they  officially  addressed 
the  Secretary  of  State,  informing  him   of  the  purpose  of 


11 

their  arrival,  and  stating  in  the  language  of  their  instruc- 
tions their  wish  "to  make  to  the  government  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  overtures  for  the  opening  of  negotiations,  as- 
suring the  government  of  the  United  States,  that  the 
President,  Congress  and  people  of  the  Confederate  States 
earnestly  desire  a  peaceful  solution  of  these  great  ques- 
tions; that  it  is  neither  their  interest  nor  their  wish  to 
make  any  demand  which  is  not  founded  on  strictest  jus- 
tice, nor  do  any  act,  to  injure  their  late  confederates." 

To  this  communication  no  formal  reply  was  received 
until  the  8th  April.  During  the  interval  the  Commis- 
sioners had  consented  to  waive  all  questions  of  form. 
With  the  firm  resolve  to  avoid  war  if  possible,  they  went 
so  tar,  even,  as  to  hold,  during  that  long  period,  unofficial 
intercourse,  through  an  intermediary,  whose  high  posi- 
tion and  character,  inspired  the  hope  of  success,  and 
through  whom  constant  assurauces  were  received  from 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  peaceful  inten- 
tions; of  the  determination  to  evacuate  Fort  Sumter; 
and  further,  that  no  measure,  changing  the  existing  status 
prejudicially  to  the  Confederate  States,  especially  at  Fort 
Pickens,  was  in  contemplation,  but  that  in  the  event  of 
any  change  of  intention  on  the  subject,  notice  would  be 
given  to  the  Commissioners.  The  crooked  paths  of 
diplomacy  can  scarcely  furnish  an  example  so  wanting  in 
courtesy,  in  candor,  and  directness,  as  was  the  course  of 
the  United  States  Government  towards  our  Commission- 
ers in  VVrashington.  For  proof  of  this  I  refer  to  the  an- 
nexed documents  marked  ,  taken  in  connection  with 
further  facts  which  I  now  proceed  to  relate  : 

Early  in  April  the  attention  of  the  whole  country,  as 
well  as  that  of  our  Commissioners,  was  attracted  to  ex- 
traordinary preparations  for  an  extensive  military  and 
naval  expedition  in  New  York  and  other  northern  ports. 
These  preparations,  commenced  in  secrecy,  for  an  expedi- 
tion whose  destination  was  concealed,  only  became  known 
when  nearly  completed,  and  on  the  5th,  6th  and  7th 
April,  transports  and  vessels  of  war,  with  troops,  muni- 


12 

tions  and  military  supplies,  sailed  from  northern  ports 
bound  southwards.  Alarmed  by  so  extraordinary  a  de- 
monstration the  Commissioners  requested  the  delivery 
of  an  answer  to  their  official  communication  of  the  12th 
March,  and  thereupon  received,  on  the  8th  April,  a  reply 
dated  on  the  15th  of  the  previous  month,  from  which  it 
appears  that,  during  the  whole  interval,  whilst  the  Com- 
missioners were  reeeiving  assurances,  calculated  to  in- 
spire hope  of  the  success  ol  their  mission,  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  had 
already  determined  to  hold  no  intercourse  with  them 
whatever;  to  refuse  even  to  listen  to  any  proposals  they 
had  to  make,  and  had  profited  by  the  delay  created  by 
their  own  assurances,  in  order  to  prepare  secretly  the 
means  for  effective  hostile  operations. 

That  these  assurances  were  given,  has  been  virtually 
confessed  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
by  its  sending  a  messenger  to  Charleston,  to  give  notice 
of  its  purpose,  to  use  force,  if  opposed  in  its  intention  of 
supplying  Fort  Sumter.  No  more  striking  proof  of  the 
absence  of  good  faith  in  the  conduct  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  towards  this  Confederacy  can  be 
required  than  is  contained  in  the  circumstances  which 
accompanied  this  notice.  According  to  the  usual  course 
of  navigation  the  vessels  composing  the  expedition  de- 
signed for  the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter,  might  be  expected  to 
reach  Charleston  harbor  on  the  9th  April ;  yet  with  our 
Commissioners  actually  in  Washington,  detained  under 
assurances  that  notice  should  be  given  of  any  military 
movement,  the  notice  was  not  addressed  to  them,  but  a 
messenger  was  sent  to  Charleston  to  give  the  notice  to 
the  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  notice  was  so 
given  at  a  late  hour,  on  the  8th  April,  the  eve 
of  the  very  day  on  which  the  fleet  might  be 
expected  to  arrive.  That  this  manoeuvre  failed  in 
its  purpose  was  not  the  fault  of  those  who  contrived  it. 
A  heavy  tempest  delayed  the  arrival  of  the  expedition, 
and  gave  time  to  the  commander  of  our  forces  at  Char- 


13 

leston  to  ask  and  receive  the  instructions  of  this  govern- 
ment. Even  then,  under  all  the  provocation  incident  to 
the  contemptuous  refusal  to  listen  to  our  Commissioners, 
and  the  tortuous  course  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  I  was  sincerely  anxious  to  avoid  the  effusion  of 
blood,  and  directed  a  proposal  to  be  made  to  the  com- 
mander of  Fort  Sumter,  who  had  avowed  himself  to  be 
nearly  out  of  provisions,  that  we  would  abstain  from  di- 
recting our  fire  on  Fort  Sumter  if  he  would  promise  not  to 
open  fire  on  our  forces  unless  first  attacked.  This  proposal 
Was  refused  and  the  conclusion  was  reached,  that  the 
design  of  the  United  States  was  to  place  the  besieging 
force  at  Charleston  between  the  simultaneous  fire  of  the 
fleet  and  the  fort.  There  remained,  therefore,  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  direct  that  the  fort  should  at  once  be  reduced, 
This  order  was  executed  by  General  Beauregard,  with 
the  skill  and  success  which  were  naturally  to  be  expected 
from  the  well  known  character  of  that  gallant  officer; 
and  although  the  bombardment  lasted  but  thirty-three 
hours,  our  flag  did  not  waive  over  its  battered  walls,  until 
after  the  appearance  of  the  hostile  fleet  off  Charleston. 
Fortunately  not  a  life  was  lost  on  our  side,  and  we  were 
gratified  in  being  spared  the  necessity  of  a  useless  effusion 
of  blood  by  the  prudent  caution  of  the  officers  who  com- 
manded the  fleet,  in  abstaining  from  the  evidently  futile 
effort  to  enter  the  harbor  for  the  relief  of  Major  Anderson. 
I  refer  to  1he  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the 
papers  which  accompany  it  for  further  details  of  this 
brilliant  affair. 

In  this  connection  I  cannot  refrain  from  a  well-deserved 
tribute  to  the  noble  State,  the  eminent  soldierly  qualities 
of  whose  people  were  so  conspicuously  displayed  in  the 
port  of  Charleston.  For  months  they  had  been  irritated 
by  the  spectacle  of  a  fortress  held  within  their  principal 
harbor,  as  a  standing  menace  against  their  peace  and  in- 
dependence. Built  in  part  with  their  own  money,  its 
custody  confided  with  their  own  consent  to  an  agent  who 
held  no  power  over  them  other  than  such   as  they  had 


14 

themselves  delegated  for  their  own  benefit,  intended  to 
be  used  by  that  agent  for  their  own  protection  against 
foreign  attack,  they  saw  it  held  with  persistent  tenacity 
as  a  means  of  offence  against  them  by  the  very  govern- 
ment which  they  had  establishd  for  their  protection. 
They  had  beleaguered  it  for  months — felt  entire  confi- 
dence in  their  power  to  capture  it — yet  yielded  to  the  re- 
quirements of  discipline,  curbed  their  impatience,  sub- 
mitted without  complaint  to  the  unaccustomed  hardships, 
labors  and  privations  of  a  protracted  siege;  and  when  at 
length  their  patience  was  rewarded  by  the  signal  for 
attack,  and  success  had  crowned  their  steady  and  gallant 
conduct — even  in  the  very  moment  of  triumph — they 
evinced  a  chivalrous  regard  for  the  feelings  of  the  brave 
but  unfortunate  officer  who  had  been  compelled  to  lower 
his  flag.  All  manifestations  of  exultation  were  checked 
in  his  presence.  Their  commanding  general,  with  their 
cordial  approval  and  the  consent  of  his  government, 
refrained  from  imposing  any  terms  that  could  wound  the 
sensibilities  of  the  commander  of  the  fort.  lie  wTas  per- 
mitted to  retire  with  the  honors  of  war — to  salute  his  flag, 
to  depart  freely  with  all  his  command,  and  was  escorted 
to  the  vessel  in  which  he  embarked,  with  the  highest 
marks  of  respect  from  those  against  whom  his  guns  had 
been  so  recently  directed.  Not  only  does  every  event 
connected  with  the  siege  reflect  the  highest  honor  on 
South  Carolina,  but  the  forbearance  of  her  people,  and  of 
this  government,  from  making  any  harsh  use  of  a  victory 
obtained  under  circumstances  of  such  peculiar  provoca- 
tion, attest  to  the  fullest  extent  the  absence  of  any  pur- 
pose beyond  securing  their  own  tranquility,  and  the  sin- 
cere desire  to  avoid  the  calamities  of  war. 

Scarcely  had  the  President  of  the  United  States  re- 
ceived intelligence  of  the  failure  of  the  scheme  which  he 
had  devised  for  the  reinforcement  of  Fort  Sumter,  when 
he  issued  the  declaration  of  war  against  this  Confederacy 
which  has  prompted  me  to  convoke  you.  In  this  extra- 
ordinary production,  that  high   functionary  affects  total 


15 

ignorance  of  the   existence   of  an   Independent  Govern- 
ment, which,  possessing  the  entire  and  enthusiastic  devo- 
tion of  its  .people,  is  exercising   its   functions   without 
question  over   seven   sovereign   States — over  more  than 
five  millions  of  people — and  over  a   territory  whose  area 
exceeds  half  a  million  of  square  miles.     He  terms  sover- 
eign States  "  combinations,  too  powerful  to  be  suppressed 
by  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceedings,  or  by  the 
powers  vested  in  the  marshals  by  law."     He  calls  for  an 
army  of  seventy-five  thousand  men  to  act  as  a  jiosse  comi- 
tatus  in  aid  of  the  process  of  the  courts  of  justice  in  States 
where  no  courts  exist  whose  mandates  and  decrees  are 
not  cheerfully  obeyed  and  respected  by  a  willing  people. 
He  avows  that   "  the  first   service   to    be  assigned  to  the 
forces  called  out,"  will   be,  not  to  execute  the  process  of 
courts,  but  to  capture  forts  and  strong-holds  situated  with- 
in the  admitted  limits  of  this  Confederacy,  and  garrisoned 
by  its  troops;  and  declares  that  "this  effort"  is  intended 
"to    maintain   the  perpetuity   of  popular  government." 
He  concludes  by  commanding  "  the   persons  composing 
the  combinations  aforesaid,"  to-wit :  the   five  millions  of 
inhabitants  of  these  States,  "to  retire  peaceably  to  their 
respective  abodes  within  twenty  days." 

Apparently  contradictory  as  are  the  terms  of  this  sin- 
gular document,  one  point  was  unmistakeably  evident. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  called  for  an  army  of 
seventy-five  thousand  men,  whose ^rs^  service  was  to  be 
to  capture  our  forts.  It  was  a  plain  declaration  of  war 
which  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  because  of  my 
knowledge  that  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  the  President  was  usurping  a  power  granted  ex- 
clusively to  the  Congress.  He  is  the  sole  organ  of  com- 
munication between  that  country  and  foreign  powers. 
The  law  of  nations  did  not  permit  me  to  question  the 
authority  of  the  Executive  of  a  foreign  nation  to  declare 
war  against  this  Confederacy.  Although  I  might  have 
refrained  from  taking  active  measures  for  our  defence,  if 
the  States  of  the  Union  had'  all  imitated  the  action  of 


16 

Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Arkansas,  Kentucky,  Tennessee 
and  Missouri,  by  denouncing  the  call  for  troops  p 
unconstitutional  usurpation  ofpower  to  which  they  refused 
to  respond,  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  States  seemed  quite  content  to  submit  to  the 
exercise  of  the  power  assumed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  were  actively  engaged  in  levying 
troops  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  indicated  in  the  procla- 
mation. 

Deprived  of  the  aid  of  Congress  at  the  moment,  I  was 
under  the  necessity  of  confining  my  action  to  a  call  on 
the  States  for  volunteers  for  the  common  defence,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  authority  you  had  confided  to  me  be- 
fore your  adjournment.  I  deemed  it  proper  further  to 
issue  proclamation  inviting  application  from  persons  dis- 
posed to  aid  our  defence  in  private  armed  vessels  on  the 
high  seas,  to  the  end  that  preparations  might  be  made  for 
the  immediate  issue  of  letters  of  marque  aud  reprisal, 
which  you  alone,  under  the  Constitution,  have  power  to 
grant.  I  entertain  no  doubt  you  will  concur  with  me  in 
the  opinion  that  in  the  absence  of  a  fleet  of  public  vessels, 
it  will  be  eminently  expedient  to  supply  their  place  by 
private  armed  vessels,  so  happily  styled  by  the  publicists 
of  the  United  States  "the  militia  of  the  sea,"  and  so  often 
and  justly  relied  on  by  them  as  an  efficient  and  admirable 
instrument  of  defensive  warfare.  I  earnestly  recommend 
the  immediate  passage  of  a  law  authorizing  me  to  accept 
the  numerous  proposals  already  received. 

I  cannot  close  this  review  of  the  acts  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  without  referring  to  a  procla- 
mation issued  by  their  President  under  date  of  the  19th 
inst.,  in  which  after  declaring  that  an  insurrection  has 
broken  out  in  this  Confederacy  against  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  he  announces  a  blockade  of  all  the 
ports  of  these  States,  and  threatens  to  punish  as  pi- 
rates all  persons  who  shall  molest  any  vessel  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  under  letters  of  marque  issued  by  this  Govern- 
ment.    Notwithstanding  the  authenticity  of  this  procla- 


17 

mation  you  will  concur  with  me  that  it  is  hard  to  believe 
it  could  have  emanated  from  a  President  of  the  United 
States.  Its  announcement  of  a  mere  paper  blockade  is 
so  manifestly  a  violation  of  the  law  of  nations  that  it 
would  seem  incredible  that  it  could  have  been  issued  by 
authority — but  conceding  this  to  be  the  case  so  far  as 
the  Executive  is  concerned,  it  will  be  difficult  to  satisfy 
the  people  of  these  States  that  their  late  confederates  will 
sanction  its  declarations,  will  determine  to  ignore  the 
usages  of  civilized  nations,  and  will  inaugurate  a  war  of 
extermination  on  both  sides,  by  treating  as  pirates,  open 
enemies  acting  under  the  authority  of  commissions  is- 
sued by  an  organized  government.  If  such  proclamation 
was  issued,  it  could  only  have  been  published  under  the 
sudden  influence  of  passion,  and  we  may  rest  assured 
mankind  will  be  spared  the  horrors  of  the  conflict  it  seems 
to  invite. 

For  the  details  of  the  administration  of  the  different 
departments,  I  refer  to  the  reports  of  the  Secretaries  which 
accompany  this  message. 

The  State  department  has  furnished  the  necessary  in- 
structions for  three  commissioners  who  have  been  sent  to 
England,  France,  Russia  and  Belgium,  since  your  ad- 
journment, to  ask  our  recognition  as  a  member  of   the 
family  of  nations,  and  to  make  with  each  of  those  powers 
treaties  of  amity  and  commerce.     Further  steps  will  be 
taken  to  enter  into  like  negotiations  with  the  other  Eu- 
ropean powers  in  pursuance  of  your  resolutions  passed  at 
the  last  session.     Sufficient  time  has  not  yet  elapsed  since 
the  departure  of  these  commissioners  for  the  receipt  of 
any  intelligence  from  them.     As  I  deem  it  desirable  that 
commissioners  or  other  diplomatic  agents  should  also  be 
sent  at  an   early  period  to  the  independent  American 
powers  south  of  our  Confederacy,  with  all  of  whom  it  is 
our  interest  and  earnest  wish  to  maintain  the  most  cor- 
dial and  friendly  relations,  I  suggest   the  expediency  of 
making  the  necessary  appropriations  for  that  purpose. 
Having  been  officially  notified  by  the  public  authori- 


18 

ties  of  the  State  of  Virginia  that  she  had  withdrawn  from 
the  Union,  and  desired  to  maintain  the  closest  political 
relations  with  ua  which  it  was  possible  at  this  time  to  es- 
tablish, I  commissioned  the  lion.  Alexander  IT.  Steph- 
Vice  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  to  repre- 
sent this  government  at  Richmond.  T  am  happy  to  inform 
yon  that  he  lias  concluded  a  convention  with  the  State  of 
Virginia,  by  which  that  honored  Commonwealth,  so  long 
and  justly  distinguished  among  her  sister  States,  and  so 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  thousands  of  her  children  in  the 
Confederate  State-,  lias  united  her  power  and  her  fortunes 
with  ours,  and  become  one  of  us.  This  convention  to- 
gether with  the  ordinance  of  Virginia,  adopting  the  pro- 
visional constitution  of  the  Confederacy,  will  be  laid  be- 
fore you  for  your  constitutional  action.  I  have  satisfac- 
tory assurances  from  other  of  our  late  confederates  that 
they  are  on  the  point  of  adopting  similar  measures,  and  I 
cannot  doubt  that  ere  you  shall  have  been  many  weeks  in 
session  the  whole  of  the  slave  holding  states  of  the  late 
Union,  will  respond  to  the  call  of  honor  and  affection, 
and  by  uniting  their  fortunes  with  ours,  promote  our  com- 
mon interests  and  secure  our  common  safety. 

In  the  Treasury  Department,  regulations  have  been  de- 
land  put  into  execution  for  carrying  out  the  policy 
indicated  in  your  legislation  on  the  subject  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi  river,  as  well  as  for  the  collection 
of  revenue  on  the  frontier.  Free  transit  has  been  secured 
for  vessels  and  merchandise  passing  through  the  Confed- 
erate States  ;  and  delay  and  inconvenience  have  been 
avoided  as  far  as  possible  in  organizing  the  revenue  ser- 
vice for  the  various  rail-ways  entering  our  territory.  As 
fast  as  experience  shall  indicate  the  possibility  of  im- 
provement in  these  regulations,  no  effort  will  be  spared 
to  free  commerce  from  all  unnecessary  embarrassments 
and  obstructions. 

Under  your  act  authorizing  a  loan,  proposals  were  is- 
sued inviting  subscriptions  for  five  millions  of  dollars, 
and  the  call  was  answered  by  the  prompt  subscription  of 


19 

.more  than  eight  millions  by  our  own  citizens,  and  not 
a  single  bid  was  made  under  par.  The  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  purpose  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  invade  our  soil,  capture  our  forts,  blockade  our 
ports,  and  wage  war  against  us,  induced  me  to  direct  that 
the  entire  subscription  should  be  accepted.  It  will  now 
become  necessary  to  raise  means  to  a  much  larger  amount 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  maintaining  our  independence 
and  repelling  invasion.  I  invite  your  special  attention 
to  t^iis  subject,  and  the  financial  condition  of  the  govern- 
ment, with  the  suggestion  of  ways  and  means  for  the 
supply  of  the  Treasury,  will  be  presented  to  you  in  a 
separate,  communication. 

To  the  Department  of  Justice  you  have  confided  not 
only  the  organization  and  supervision  of  all  matters  con- 
nected with  the  courts  of  justice,  but  also  those  connect- 
ed with  patents  and  with  the  bureau  of  public  printing. 
Since  your  adjournment  all  the  courts,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  those  of  jlississippi  and  Texas,  have  been  organ- 
ized by  the  appointment  of  Marshals  and  District  Attor- 
neys, and  are  now  prepared  for  the  exercise  of  their 
functions. 

In  the  two  States  just  named,  the  gentlemen  confirm- 
ed as  judges  declined  to  accept  the  appointment,  and  no 
nominations  have  yet  been  made  to  fill  the  vacancies. 
I  refer  you  to  the  report  of  the  Attorney  General,  and 
concur  in  his  recommendation  for  immediate  legislation, 
especially  on  the  subject  of  patent  rights.  Early  provis- 
ion should  be  made  to  secure  to  the  subjects  of  foreign 
nations  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  property  in  valuable 
inventions,  and  to  extend  to  our  own  citizens  protection, 
not  only  for  their  own  inventions,  but  for  such  as  may 
have  been  assigned  to  them,  or  may  hereafter  be  assigned 
by  persons  not  alien  enemies. 

The  patent  office  business  is  much  more  extensive  and 
important  than  had  been  anticipated.  The  applications 
for  patents,  although  confined,  under  the  law  exclusively 
to  citizens   of  our  confederacy,  already  average  seventy 


20 

per  month,  showing  the  necessity  for  the  prompt  organi- 
zation of  a  bureau  of  patents. 

The  Secretary  of  War,  in  his  report  and  accompanying 
documents,  conveys  full  information  concerning  the 
forces,  regular,  volunteer  and  provisional,  raised  and  called 
for  under  the  several  acts  of  Congress,  their  organization 
and  distribution.  Also,  an  account  of  the  expenditures 
already  made,  and  the  further  estimates  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  on  the  18th  February,  18G2,  rendered  necessary  by 
recent  events.  I  refer  to  his  report  also  for  a  full  history 
of  the  occurrences  in  Charleston  harbor,  prior  to  and 
including  the  bombardment  and  reduction  of  Fort  Sum- 
ter, and  of  the  measures  subsequently  taken  for  the  com- 
mon defence,  on  receiving  intelligence  of  the  declaration 
of  war  against  us  made  by  the  President  ol  the  United 
States.  There  are  now  in  the  field  at  Charleston,  Pensa- 
cola,  Forts  Morgan,  Jackson,  St.  Philip  and  Pulaski, 
nineteen  thousand  men,  and  sixteen  thousand  are  now 
en-route  for  Virginia.  It  is  proposed  to  organize  and  hold 
in  readiness  for  instant  action,  in  view  of  the  present  exi- 
gencies of  the  country,  an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand 
men.  If  further  force  should  be  needed  the  wisdom  and 
patriotism  of  Congress  wTill  be  confidently  appealed  to 
for  authority  to  call  into  the  field  additional  numbers  of 
our  noble-spirited  volunteers,  who  are  constantly  tender- 
ing service  far  in  excess  of  our  wants. 

The  operations  of  the  Navy  Department  have  been 
necessarily  restricted  by  the  fact  that  sufficient  time  has 
not  yet  elapsed  for  the  purchase  or  construction  of  more 
than  a  limited  number  of  vessels  adapted  to  the  public 
service.  Two  vessels  purchased,  have  been  named  the 
"Sumter"  and  "Macree,"  and  are  now  being  prepared  for 
sea  at  New  Orleans  with  all  possible  despatch.  Contracts 
have  also  been  made  at  that  city  with  two  different  estab- 
lishments for  the  casting  of  ordnance,  cannon  shot  and 
shell,  with  the  view  to  encourage  the  manufacture  of  these 
articles  so  indispensable  for  our  defence,  at  as  many  points 
within  our  territory  as  possible. 


21 

I  call  your  attention  to  the  recommendation  of  the 
Secretary  for  the  establishment  of  a  magazine  and  labora- 
tory for  preparation  of  ordnance  stores,  and  the  neces- 
sary appropriation  for  that  purpose.  Hitherto  such 
stores  have  usually  been  prepared  at  the  navy  yards,  and 
no  appropriation  was  made  at  your  last  session  for  this 
object. 

The  Secretary  also  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  no 
provision  has  been  made  for  the  payment  of  invalid  pen- 
sions to  our  own  citizens.  Many  of  these  persons  are  ad- 
vanced in  liie,  they  have  no  means  of  support,  and  by 
the  secession  of  these  States,  have  been  deprived  of  their 
claim  against  the  Government  ef  the  United  States.  I 
recommend  the  appropriation  of  the  sum  necessary  to 
pay  these  pensioners,  as  well  as  those  of  the  army,  whose 
claims  can  scarcely  exceed  seventy  thousand  dollars  per 
annum. 

The  Postmaster  General  has  already  succeeded  in 
organizing  his  department  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  in 
readiness  to  assume  the  direction  of  our  postal  affairs,  on 
the  occurrence  of  the  contingency  contemplated  by  the 
Act  of  15th  March,  1861,  or  even  sooner  if  desired  by 
Congress.  The  various  books  and  circulars  have  been 
prepared  and|measures  taken  to  secure  supplies  of  blanks, 
postage  stamps,  stamped  envelopes,  mail  bags,  locks, 
keys,  etc.  He  presents  a  detailed  classification  and  ar- 
rangement of  his  clerical  force,  and  asks  for  its  increase. 
An  auditor  of  the  treasury  for  this  department  is  necessary 
and  a  plan  is  submitted  for  the  organization  of  his  bureau. 
The  great  number  and  magnitude  of  the  accounts  of  this 
department,  require  an  increase,  of  the  clerical  force  in 
the  accounting  branch  in  the  Treasury.  The  revenues  of 
this  department  are  collected  and  disbursed  in  modes 
peculiar  to  itself,  and  require  a  special  bureau  to  secure  a 
proper  accountability  in  the  administration  of  its  finances. 

I  call  your  attention  to  the  additional  legislation  re- 
quired for  this  Department,  to  the  recommendation  for 
changes  in   the  law  fixing  the  rates  of  postage  on  news- 


22 

papers,  periodicals,  and  sealed  packages  of  certain  kinds, 
and  specially  to  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary,  in 

which  I  concur,  that  you  provide  at  once  for  the  as- 
sumption by  him  of  the  control  of  our  entire  postal 
service. 

In  the  military  organization  of  the  States,  provision  is 
made  for  brigadier  and  major-generals,  but  in  the  army  of 
the  Confederate  States,  the  highest  grade  is  that  of  brig- 
adier-general. Hence  it  will  no  doubt  sometimes  occur 
that  where  troops  of  the  Confederacy  do  duty  with  the 
militia,  the  general  selected  for  the  command,  and  pos- 
sessed of  the  views  and  purposes  of  this  government,  will 
be  superseded  by  an  officer  of  the  militia  not  having  the 
same  advantages.  To  avoid  this  contingency  in  the  least 
objectionable  manner,  I  recommend  that  additional  rank 
be  given  to  the  general  of  the  Confederate  army,  and  con- 
curring in  the  policy  of  having  but  one  grade  of  generals 
in  the  army  of  the  Confederacy,  I  recommend  that  the 
law  of  its  organization  be  amended,  so  that  the  grade  be 
that  of  general. 

To  secure  a  thorough  military  education,  it  is  deemed 
essential  that  officers  should  enter  upon  the  study  of  their 
profession  at  an  early  period  of  life,  and  have  elementary 
instruction  in  a  military  school,  Until  such  school  shall 
be  established,  it  is  recommended  that  cadets  be  appoint- 
ed and  attached  to  companies  until  they  shall  have  at- 
tained the  age  and  have  acquired  the  knowledge  to  fit 
them  for  the  duties  of  lieutenants. 

I  also  call  your  attention  to  an  omission  in  the  law  or- 
ganizing the  army,  in  relation  to  military  chaplains,  and 
recommend  that  provision  be  made  for  their  appointment. 

In  conclusion,  I  congratulate  you  on  the  fact,  that  in 
every  portion  of  our  country,  there  has  been  exhibited 
the  most  patriotic  devotion  to  our  common  cause.  Trans- 
portation companies  have  freely  tendered  the  use  of  their 
lines  for  troops  and  supplies.  The  presidents  of  the  rail- 
roads of  the  Confederacy,  in  company  with  others  who 
control  lines  of  communication  with  States  that  we  hope 


23 

soon  to  greet  as  sisters,  assembled  in  Convention  in  this 
city,  and  not  only  reduced  largely  the  rates  heretofore  de- 
manded for  mail  service,  and  conveyance  of  troops  and 
munitions,  but  voluntarily  proffered  to  receive  their  com- 
pensation at  these  reduced  rates  in  the  bonds  of  the  Con- 
federacy, for  the  purpose  of  leaving  all  the  resources  of 
the  government  at  its  disposal  for  the  common  defense. 
Requisitions  for  troops  have  been  met  with  such  alacrity 
that  the  numbers  tendering  their  services  have,  in  every 
instance,  greatly  exceeded  the  demand.  Men  of  the 
highest  official  and  social  position,  are  serving  as  volun- 
teers in  the  ranks.  The  gravity  of  age  and  the  zeal  of 
youth,  rival  each  other  in  the  desire  to  be  foremost  for  the 
public  defence  ;  and  though  at  no  other  point  than  the  one 
heretofore  noticed,  have  they  been  stimulated  by  the  excite- 
ment incident  to  actual  engagement,  and  the  hope  of  distinc- 
tion for  individual  achievement,  they  have  borne  what  for 
new  troops  is  the  most  severe  ordeal,  patient  toil  and  con- 
stant vigil,  and  all  the  exposure  and  discomfort  of  active  ser- 
vice, with  a  resolution  and  fortitude  such  as  to  command 
approbation  and  justify  the  highest  expectation  of  their 
conduct  when  active  valor  shall  be  required  in  place  of 
steady  endurance. 

A  people  thus  united  and  resolved  cannot  sfrrink  from 
any  sacrifice  which  they  may  be  called  on  to  make,  nor 
can  there  be  a  reasonable  doubt  of  their  final  success, 
however  long  and  severe  may  be  the  test  of  their  deter- 
mination to  maintain  their  birthright  of  freedom  and 
equality,  as  a  trust  which  it  is  their  first  duty  to  transmit? 
undiminished  to  their  posterity. 

A  bounteous  Providence  cheers  us  with  the  promise  of 
abundant  crops.  The  fields  of  grain,  which  will,  within 
a  few  weeks,  be  ready  for  the  sickle,  give  assurance  of  the 
amplest  supply  of  food  for  man  ;  whilst  the  corn,  cotton, 
and  other  staple  productions  of  our  soil,  afford  abundant 
proof  that  up  to  this  period  the  season  has  been  propitious. 

"We  feel  that  our  cause  is  just  and  holy  ;  we  protest  sol- 
emnly in  the  face  of  mankind  that  we  desire  peace  at  any 


24 

sacrifice,  save  that  of  honor  and  independence  ;  we  seek 
no  conquest,  no  aggrandisement,  no  concession  of  any 
kind  from  the  States  with  which  we  were  lately  confed- 
erated ;  all  we  ask  is  to  be  let  alone  ;  that  those  who  nev- 
er held  power  over  us,  shall  not  now  attempt  our  subju- 
gation by  arms.  This  we  will,  this  we  must  resist  to  the 
direst  extremity.  The  moment  that  this  pretension  is 
abandoned,  the  sword  will  drop  from  our  grasp,  and  we 
shall  be  ready  to  enter  into  treaties  of  amity  and  com- 
merce that  cannot  but  be  mutually  beneficial.  So  long 
as  this  pretension  is  maintained,  with  a  firm  reliance  on 
that  Divine  Power  which  covers  with  its  protection  the 
just  cause,  we  will  continue  to  struggle  for  our  inherent 
right  to  freedom,  independence  and  self-government. 

JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 
Montgomery,  April  29,  1861. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
PH8.5 


